For Franz, problems could never be solved. As long as you didn't care about it, it wouldn't be a problem.
France was in chaos. It was big news for the media, but for the Holy Roman Empire, it wasn't even a small cold.
Since it was caused by the Russians, the Tsarist government would settle it themselves. Anyway, Shinra didn't have troops stationed in France. Even if there was a bloodbath, the Government of Vienna wouldn't be worried.
The only problem was that the international public opinion would be unfavorable. However, things were different now. As the leader of the European Union, the Vienna Government was much more resistant to lightning.
It wasn't the Shinra army that caused the chaos. Even if they were criticized by the public, they would at most accuse the Government of Vienna of "inaction."
"Inaction" wasn't a sin. If you looked at the recent history, you would know that the Government of Vienna's policy of inaction had continued for many years.
For the European governments, the "action" of the boss above them was far more terrifying than "inaction." If the Government of Vienna cared about everything, the European Alliance wouldn't be as stable as it was now.
Similar to the future, if the UA government suddenly stopped messing around and didn't care about things, the world would only celebrate instead of jumping out to accuse the UA of inaction.
There was only one main reason for being criticized for inaction. That was, you participated in trivial matters, but at the critical moment, you withdrew and refused to take responsibility.
Although the chaos in France showed signs of expanding, it hadn't reached the point where it couldn't be cleaned up. The Government of Vienna didn't take action for the time being and let the Russians handle it themselves. In theory, there was nothing wrong with this.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with this. It was only from the standpoint of the Holy Roman Empire itself and the unrelated third parties.
The French and Russians, who were in the center of the storm, would never think so.
Without the mediation of the Government of Vienna, the French and Russian governments were essentially forced into a corner.
Compromise?
If the Carlist government dared to give in, the French people dared to change their king.
It was already very shameful to fight the enemy without the strength. If they didn't even dare to cooperate with the French people, how could they prove that they stood with the French people?
The Government of France had no choice, and the Tsarist government was in an awkward position. Nicholas II, who had just succeeded the throne, had not had time to adapt to the supreme power brought by the Tsar when he encountered this big problem.
It was meaningless to investigate who was right and who was wrong. Once they investigated further, the final result would most likely be a slap in the face.
According to the Russian Army Headquarters in France, this was a conspiracy by the French. They deliberately provoked the conflict between the Russian Army and the local people, which caused the situation to get out of control.
Regardless of whether others believed it or not, the French people wouldn't. The main reason was that the French conspiracy existed, but the main reason wasn't a conspiracy.
There was no other way. Those damned reporters had recorded the atrocities of the Russian army. The photos were already in the newspapers, and there was no way to wash them off.
Someone even mailed a video to Nicholas II, along with a sincere letter, hoping that Nicholas II would stop the atrocities of the Russian army.
If they were all gathered together, they could fit a few train cars. If all of them were gathered together, they could fit several train carriages.
Not to brag, if Nicholas II had lived in the twentieth century, he would have been able to live a middle-class life by selling the waste paper that he received every day.
Those who were polite tried to persuade him, but those who didn't give him face directly scolded him. Fortunately, Nicholas II had good self-restraint. If it was a petty Tsar, he might have sent people to kill these people.
Fortunately, Nicholas II had good self-restraint. If it had been a narrow-minded tsar, he might have sent someone to kill these people who were pointing fingers at him.
If it wasn't for the distance, Nicholas II would have called the commander in Paris to him and taught him what to do. Had it not been for the distance, Nicholas II would have called the commandant in Paris to him, and let him know what it meant to be admonished.
He had seen stupid people, but he had never seen someone this stupid. It was barely understandable that the reporters secretly took photos. But it was inexcusable that someone filmed a documentary on the spot.
These days, cameras were not small toys. Such a big guy was filming from the side, and the Russian soldiers at the scene did not stop him. Nicholas II could no longer be described with words.
In short, the video was quite unfavorable to the Tsarist government. They had been quiet for more than ten years and finally squeezed into the European circle, but now they were kicked out.
The "barbaric" and "brutal" label of the Russian Empire wouldn't be removed in a short period of time. The international image that Alexander III had painstakingly built up in the era of Alexander III was now gone.
Thanks to the blurriness of the video, it was impossible to accurately identify the identity of the Russian soldiers. Otherwise, Nicholas II would have sent these useless people to God.
The situation had already deteriorated. Finding out who was responsible was a matter for the future. The most important thing right now was to deal with the aftermath.
The Allied Forces Headquarters, controlled by the Government of Vienna, ordered the Russian Army in Paris to solve the problem by themselves. Whether the Tsarist government was willing or not, they could only bite the bullet.
…
St. Peter's Castle
In the Winter Palace, Nicholas II sat on the main seat with a gloomy face and said indifferently, "What happened in France has seriously affected our international image.
In order to reverse these adverse effects and safeguard the interests of the Russian Empire, we must take decisive measures now.
… "
Obviously, Nicholas II still hadn't figured out the key point. "International image", once that thing was ruined, it was really ruined.
It wasn't impossible to reverse it, but it was definitely not something that could be changed in a short period of time.
Instead of struggling with the international image, it was better to find a way to stabilize the situation in France. Only these benefits could be seen and touched.
Bibi Donoschev reminded, "Your Majesty, the Allied Forces Headquarters has authorized us to deal with the affairs in France.
Our first priority is to stabilize the situation in Paris. Recall the Commander stationed in France and investigate the relevant responsible persons. We can deal with it after the situation stabilizes. "
(Bibi Donoschev: Nicholas II's personal teacher and advisor, Director of the General Administration of Orthodox Affairs)
There was no other way. The Allied Forces authorized the Russian Army stationed in Paris to deal with it. It seemed like they trusted it very much, but in fact, it was to let the Tsarist government clean up the mess themselves.
The matter was caused by the Russian Army stationed in France. Now that the situation was out of control, the Tsarist government couldn't escape the blame and couldn't shirk the responsibility.
Furthermore, they had to deal with the aftermath beautifully. Otherwise, the other allied forces stationed in France who suffered the unexpected disaster would come looking for trouble.
It wasn't a matter of fear. The key was that everyone was in the same pot, and they needed to cooperate with each other. If the relationship was really strained, the situation of the Russian Army stationed in France would be even worse.
To put it bluntly, if the French really went berserk, the strength of the Russian Army stationed in France wouldn't be able to control the situation at all.
Limited by the distance, even if the Russian Empire wanted to send reinforcements, it would be too late. They could only rely on the strength of their allies.
Perhaps the strength of a single country was limited, but the combined strength of more than a dozen countries was actually not too far from the Russian Empire.
Minister of Finance Sergei Witte: "The director is right. The current situation doesn't allow us to delay.
The Government of Vienna now clearly doesn't want to intervene. The Government of France is on strike again. From now on, we need to raise our own expenses in France.
The longer we delay, the greater the loss of the Empire.
In order to solve the problem as soon as possible, I propose to immediately send a delegation to Paris to be responsible for investigating the cause of the incident and coordinating the relationship with the Government of France.
In any case, we must first appease the Government of France. Only when they come out to work, can social order be restored as soon as possible. "
It wasn't that Sergei Witte opposed violent repression, but mainly because the situation in France was too complicated. Violence simply couldn't solve the problem.
It seemed that the Russian Army stationed in France didn't have the strength to solve the problem. Considering the financial pressure, the Tsarist government couldn't send 1.8 million Russian Army to carry out a purge.
Since violence didn't work, then they could only use reason. In any case, France was a defeated country, so they would be at a disadvantage from the start.
Foreign Minister Mikhailovich: "I'm afraid this will be difficult to do. The Government of France is on strike, and the main purpose is for us to withdraw our troops from Paris.
However, this is precisely the most unlikely concession we can make. If we don't have troops stationed in France, how can we guarantee the war reparations?
How can we protect the interests of the Empire in France?
Even if we don't care about these, we must consider the position of the anti-French alliance. If the Empire unilaterally compromises with the French, it will only put the Empire in a very awkward position. "
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' ability was limited. It was an impossible task to convince the French with a glib tongue.
The bottom line of the Tsarist government was clearly laid out here. The biggest concession was nothing more than not personally collecting taxes next time, and then there would be no more.
The investigation of the person responsible would also be handled internally, and the final result would be nothing more than three cups of wine.
The reason for the person being punished was not because of the atrocities committed by the Russian Army, but because they didn't do a good job in blocking the news during the robbery, which put the Tsarist government in a passive position.
As for the atrocities committed by the Russian Army, there was no way the Tsarist government would admit it. Even if there was sufficient evidence, the Tsarist government could only fight to the end.
The French wouldn't be satisfied with this kind of result.
If they wanted to use diplomatic means to solve the problem, they had to at least throw a few scapegoats out and let the French vent their anger.
Obviously, it was impossible for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to do something like offending the military.
Mikhailovich didn't want to offend his colleagues, but he also didn't want to bear the consequences of the failure of the negotiation, so he naturally had to say the ugly words first so that he could shift the blame if there was a problem in the future.
The position of the civil officials wasn't even unified, let alone the military. Other than suppressing with force, it was still suppressing with force. In any case, it was impossible for them to take responsibility.
The interests of the Empire were important, but personal status and future were obviously more important. Anyone in the position of the Minister of War would first protect the interests of their subordinates.
…
For the soft-hearted Nicholas II, the endless disputes at the top of the government was the greatest torture. Everyone had their own reasons, and it was too difficult for Tsar to make a choice.
Perhaps he was tired of listening, or perhaps he thought of something, but Nicholas II interrupted the discussion.
"Okay, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will negotiate with the French first. If they know the situation and accept our goodwill, then it's fine. If the French reject our goodwill, then use a bayonet to wake them up. "
Diplomacy and the military worked together to solve the problem. It was exactly the same as described in the book, and there didn't seem to be any problems.
As for the effect, they would only know after using it. In any case, Nicholas II was now very satisfied. He had combined everyone's opinions and taken care of all aspects.
The only trouble was the specific executors, which would be a headache again. Whether the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the military would be the leader, the great Tsar didn't give a clear answer to this question.
Although they knew it would be troublesome, everyone in the room tacitly chose to avoid it.
Who would be the leader not only involved the aftermath, but also related to the ranking of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the government's power structure.
It would be fine if Tsar directly appointed it. It was nothing more than an imperial envoy, and it wouldn't affect the balance of power.
But if someone else pierced through the window paper, it would turn the secret political struggle on the table, and there would be no room for maneuver.
In politics, this was undoubtedly a big taboo. Everyone in the room was smart enough to know what they could do and what they couldn't.
